Audi predicts death of non-hybrid engines in 20 years

Audi’s Sport quattro concept, a plug-in hybrid sports car that rips to 100km/h in just 3.7 seconds thanks to its 515kW/800Nm petrol-electric powertrain, is a sign of things to come from the four-ringed German brand.

The Sport quattro, which pays homage to the 1980 Ur Quattro and is due on sale by 2016, will mark a turning point for Audi performance cars, said CEO Rupert Stadler after the striking new super-coupe’s public debut in Frankfurt.

Having cancelled the all-electric R8 e-tron, Stadler said PHEV technology was the future for high-performance Audis, sounding the death knell for exclusively fossil-fuelled internal combustion engines in passenger within just “15 to 20 years”.

“With the e-tron concept combining a combustion engine with the electrification, this is the right way to go,” he said.

Stadler cautioned the new MLB platform-based Audi Sport quattro concept has not been approved for production, but said he will push the company to build it.

In terms of timing he said 2017 was "a little bit late," confirming reports the production version of the A7-based uber coupe could break cover by the end of 2015.

"We have to fix some numbers," said Stadler of the concept car, referring to the business case. "Give us some time -- I think the car is terrific and it's worthwhile."

"In the sports car segment there is plenty of opportunity for further growth, for additional halo cars," he continued, before confirming it will fill the gap in Audi’s sports car range between the TT and R8.

“There is a price space between TT and R8. I would like to fill that space, but you have to find the right quantity of customers," said Stadler.

Given the TT’s pricing spans $65,000-$140,000 and the R8 is priced from $280,000, the production Sport quattro should cost anywhere between $150,000 and $250,000.

The Audi chief said we'll see more PHEV models in the near future from the company: "In 2015, 2016 you will really see and feel e-tron," he said.

Audi’s first plug-in hybrid sports car is expected to be next year’s redesigned R8, which Stadler said was feasible if there was customer demand.

He reiterated that Audi now has no intention to go full-electric with its high-performance cars: "When it comes to supercars, I am a purist. You need power, you need range, you go to the test track and this is what you like to feel."

Stadler said a more likely scenario was for Audi to leverage the technology used for its R18 e-tron quattro Le Mans-winning race car. "Maybe there can be some types of [capacitor] hybridisation like in Le Mans, but a pure electric sports car? It will have a very small group of customers."

The Audi CEO said it was good to see companies like Tesla gaining traction with motorists, but stated that go-fast hybrids like Sport quattro will be Audi's focus.

"This is what we see in the future. You have a powerful engine with an electric drive concept that allows you to go 500km."

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